With this post, I guess I will be caught up. May 10th was a short night with only a few beers. In the intervening weeks, I forgot to bring my notebook with me. No notes means nothing to write up. Last week, May 24, was a great drinking night with many great beers, some of my favorites written about here. Shame on me for missing a great night.
Now for the beers:
Udderly Calm
Brewer: Swamp Head (Gainesville, FL)
Style: Sweet Stout
ABV: 4.8%
IBU: 20
Served: Draft
Glass and Serving Size: 10oz Tulip
Rating: OK
Swamp Head produces some decent beers. The Udderly Calm is an average sweet stout that is nothing really special. I really enjoy stouts, and this isn’t a bad stout. It’s not like I won’t drink it again.
The beer pours dark with a creamy mocha colored head. The smell is that of roasted malts with a hint of chocolate and a hint of sweetness. The flavor is sweet first followed by dark roast. The finish is that of vanilla and chocolate.
Bourbon Barrel Ale
Brewer: Kentucky (Lexington, KY)
Style: Strong Ale
ABV: 8.2%
IBU: 19
Served: Draft
Glass and Serving Size: 10oz Tulip
Rating: Meh
Lately, I have been sampling a lot of barrel aged beers. This one is one that I didn’t enjoy, at all. Some beers it works better for, and some beers it just doesn’t work at all.
The beer pours a dark gold, almost brown, with a white head. The aroma is overly bourbon with a hint of malt. The taste was overly bourbon, losing any quality of the ale. The problem was that the beer tasted too much like a bourbon. Definitely not a beer that I liked.
Wake-N-Bake
Brewer: Terrapin (Athens, GA)
Style: Imperial Stout (Oatmeal)
ABV: 9.4%
IBU: 50
Served: Draft
Glass and Serving Size: 10oz Tulip
Rating: Good
The Wake-N-Bake is a pretty good beer, off of draft. Of the Imperial Stouts, this one is pretty far up in my list. There is a canned version of the Wake-N-Bake that is better, but I can’t remember if it was the same version, or an enhanced version like Barrel Aged. Either way, this is a solid beer.
The beer is dark with a creamy dark mocha head. The aroma is highly coffee with a dark roast and a hint of sweetness. In the mouth, the beer is thick and coating. The flavor is sweet and fruity, with a strong coffee flavor and hints of dark roasted malt. The flavor lingers for a while after finishing. I would definitely drink this beer again.
As a side note, I had heard a rumor that my favorite Terrapin beer is not likely to be made again. The Liquid Bliss, which is a chocolate peanut butter porter, was a great beer. I was a little sad to hear that it may not be made again.
In Summary
This was a particularly light night of sampling. The beers sampled were a mixed bag of good to not so good. The highlight of the night was definitely the Wake-N-Bake. Unfortunately, it makes a for a fairly limited write-up.
Beersnob225
DeHawk
Leave a Reply